MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th January, 2019) Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay a one-day visit to Serbia on Thursday.
On December 21, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that he expected Putin to visit Serbia on January 17. On January 9, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that Putin's visit was being prepared and the program was being worked out.
Over 20 documents on energy, industry, infrastructure and other areas are expected to be signed during Putin's visit, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said, adding that Russian gas giant Gazprom would finalize an agreement on modernizing Serbia's underground gas storage facility Banatski Dvor. According to Serbian Innovation and Technological Development Minister Nenad Popovic, the parties will sign seven agreements of cooperation in the field of innovation.
Putin will discuss, among other issues, the extension of TurkStream gas pipeline and escalation of tensions in the self-proclaimed republic of Kosovo, during his visit, Ushakov said.
In late December, the Serbian leader said he planned to discuss with Putin the continuation of the Russian Railways' projects in Serbia and the Russian participation in Serbia's IT sector.
It is expected that Putin will visit the government complex of the Palace of Serbia, the largest Orthodox Church of Saint Sava and the memorial to Russian soldiers in the Serbian capital.
The public association Belgrade Development Center will organize a rally in support of the Serbian-Russian friendship and a solemn procession in the center of Belgrade in honor of Putin's arrival.
